The Legend of Zelda: Legends of Love
by Onion Man Chive
Summary: This is not actually a story. This is a document describing the many possible pairings Link could have been involved in throught the games. Detailed descriptions proving such pairings included. Please R&R!


_**The Legend of Zelda: Legends of Love**_

_by Onion Man Chive_

Good day to you all! As the summery reads, this is not an actual story. This is a detailed description of my past time experience involving the Legend of Zelda series. The focus of this 'document,' if you will, is the many possible love interests involving the character Link as well as numerous female characters that appeared in the series.

Before I continue, I would like to make perfectly clear that my knowledge of the series is limited to the games I have played, which are as follows: A Link To The Past, Ocarina Of Time, Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, and just recently Twilight Princess. There are a few exceptions to that in regards to some leisure time research of other games, but my main focus involves the games that I have played. Nevertheless, I believe my knowledge will hit many key areas that have been looked into by many fans.

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Now, without further a due, let us begin with the leading character of the game: Link.

Throughout the years, Link's character has become more and more developed with each game. As time progressed, each Link had a few things in common. For one, Link has always been portrayed as a young boy, ranging from ages 10 to 19, and is involved with one or more female character of roughly the same age throughout the course of his journeys. The thing to keep in mind is that this is an age of high emotional development. With that in mind, Link is brought up to mature as an adult at a heightened pace, which is no easy task for anybody. In other words, he's being forced to save the world while trying to figure out whether or not he likes Princess Zelda in 'that way.'

Needless to say, Link has a lot of emotional feelings to deal with. But here's the fun part: as the games progressed, the creators of the game began to put more female characters playing important roles involving Link's progress. One notable example would obviously be Ocarina Of Time with a total of four female characters of his age and two more that exceed it. The funny thing is, while Link's out killing Stalfos warriors and solving life-threatening puzzles, these female characters go on about their happy lives thinking about Link and wanting him to come back so that they could spend happy time together. Some of them go so far as to tease Link about their feelings, which is a trait not uncommon in women in general. Think about it: How would you feel if a giant tree spoke to you about all the troubles in the world and about how you have to solve them during a time when puberty is supposed to be your biggest problem in life? Call me crazy, but that's a lot to take in, especially at such a young age. Then you add girls to the mix and suddenly you're in an adolescent torture chamber!

Anyway, my point is these games, when you really look at it, make it hard for Link to really appreciate a romantic connection with anybody. That's not to say that it isn't possible, but it isn't easy. Games that portray him as a young adult (17 to 19 years of age) would bring out the most possibility in Link getting involved with someone on a romantic level.

Now that Link's situation has been discussed, let's take a look at the many possible love interests of Link. The first on our list is, without a doubt, Princess Zelda.

Of all the female characters, Zelda has been the default choice for romance. She's involved with Link heavily in each game, she's a caring and nurturing youth that does her best to lead others away from danger, and she has a knack for being the 'damsel in distress' in the games.

One of the big reasons why Zelda is the classic pick of the bunch is because Zelda is actually the only female character who has given proof of her affection. Though I had never played the second LoZ game (The Adventure of Link) I came across an image online that showed the ending scene of the second game, in which case Zelda thanks Link for his brave efforts and actually kisses the young hero behind a curtain.

Now here's where the problem lies: Back then, in my opinion anyway, games like that weren't really meant to be taken seriously in regards to the plot. The plot was the clue on how to beat the game and the ending was the reward for beating it. If I had played that game back when it was made and beaten it, I would consider the ending scene, for lack of a better word, cute, while at the same time drinking a tasty beverage in celebration over my latest victory. My opinion: Great scene, bad timing.

As for A Link To The Past, however, this would have been a great opportunity for such a scene. This was the first Zelda game that was introduced to me, while having no knowledge of the prior games. Being that I was (and still am) a sucker for medieval games and movies, I really looked into the story and figured that Zelda would become involved with Link on a personal level. In other words, those who knew about the games expected such an outcome and those who didn't would point out what they perceived as the obvious.

Zelda's character in Ocarina Of Time was not much different. She was the same caring, affectionate youth as she was in the prior games and was easily loved by many. The connection between Link and Zelda in this game was, if anything, unrequited love for each other, especially in Zelda's case. The ending sequence as a whole provides plenty of hints towards their possible romantic connection from the moment of silence shared when they hold hands to the very end where Link sneaks his way to the Castle Courtyard just to see her. As I said before, if there is a romantic connection between them, it is most likely unrequited, being that they were unable to pursue a life together after Ganon's defeat and the fact that Link is a mere commoner once he returns to his original time. It's a very sad connection, but very effective to the gamer.

Zelda is portrayed as the young pirate, Tetra, in The Wind Waker. This is difficult to make a romantic connection between the two because they are of such a young age. That's not to say that a romantic connection is impossible for them, however. Here's something for you: when I looked into the connection between Link and Tetra, I began to compare the two with another odd couple. Some may laugh, but I immediately thought of Ash and Misty from the Pokemon T.V. series. If you compare the two, they have many similarities with each other. Both have arguments with the female usually overpowering the male with a hot-temper, both couples are of a young age, both travel far and wide with different, yet somewhat similar goals, and both have their share of affectionate (sometimes intimate) moments with each other.

One of the things that helped support such a connection between Link and Tetra was the improved graphics of the game, allowing all the characters improved facial expressions as opposed to Link's near constant "Kill your grandmother" look in Ocarina Of Time. However, being that the game was obviously made for the younger gamer, sporting a very cartoon-like appearance, romantic connections can be considered border lined inappropriate for young gamers and is usually disregarded altogether. In the love-struck fans' defense, however, one could easily see some sort of connection between the two and can be lead to believe that they are involved intimately. My opinion: Patience is a virtue. I predict that they will eventually grow more and more intimate with each other and develop a romantic relationship once they have matured a little more in the future.

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Twilight Princess is a different story, but I won't get into that just yet. Right now I'd like to take a look at some of the other romantic possibilities starting from Ocarina Of Time all the way to Twilight Princess.

In Ocarina Of Time, we have three other major possibilities and one slim possibility. The first of the major is the relationship between Link and Saria. Saria is the first female character in Ocarina Of Time that plays an important role in the game. In the game, Saria cares for Link very much, defending him whenever Mido or another Kokiri child picks on him, giving him a prized possession and helping him on his quest to save Hyrule. Like Zelda, the chance of Link and Saria ever pursuing a romantic relationship is, if not impossible, very slim. Though they care for each other deeply, Saria is a child of the Kokiri Forest and will never age, whereas Link is in fact a Hylian and would have to age into an elder until he finally dies. This difference would forbid them from such a connection and, as sad as it may be, would end up with the two eventually saying good-bye. So to conclude: The intimate feeling is definitely possible, but impossible for them to pursue a relationship that surpassed friendship.

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Now, to lighten the mood from such sorrow, I give you my favorite of the possible Ocarina Of Time pairings: Link and Malon.

Of all the female characters in Ocarina Of Time, Malon is without a doubt my favorite of all of them. She is, what I consider her to be, the kind Irish ranch girl of Hyrule. Interesting enough, when you really look at it, Malon is actually the logical choice for Link in Ocarina Of Time. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not speaking out of favoritism by any means. Malon is the logical choice because there is very little obligation on Malon's part in the game with the exception of her loyalties to the Lon Lon Ranch (a job Link could easily involve himself in after his journeys). Not only that, but she is a character that anybody could easily fall in love with. She's kind, caring, has a love for animals, and she grows quite fond of Link very early on in the game. Luckily, I'm not alone in my opinion about the possible pairing. I have read many Zelda fics with Link and Malon pairings, not to mention I myself have composed a story of my own with such a pairing as well.

Another interesting fact about Malon, one that actually supports the possible pairing, is that Malon is similar to a character in a prior Zelda game called Link's Awakening. The female character, Marin, shares similar character traits with Malon and actually develops a crush on the young hero. Both love to sing, both have a love for animals (whereas Malon loves horses and Marin loves seagulls), and both have red hair. These similarities add together to make quite an impression on Link in both games, making the pairing much easier to see in terms of possibility. To this day, I still read Link/Malon fanfics and I enjoy them immensely.

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Then we make our way to Princess Ruto of the Zora. In the game, we see Ruto as a spoiled, hot-tempered princess who develops in interest in Link after he saves her from the belly of Lord Jabu Jabu. To most gamers, the romance would appear to be one-sided, whereas Ruto has feelings for Link more than Link does for Ruto. Upon Link's arrival at the Water Temple seven years after Ruto's rescue, Link is surprised to find out that the Zora's Sapphire was actually Ruto's engagement gift to the one whom she would marry. Very little is described as in regards to how Link feels about the situation he found himself in, but he is relieved of his duty as Ruto's husband once she awakens as a Sage. So in the end, it's Link's relief and Ruto's loss.

Now that's not to say that the possibility of such a pairing is at all farfetched. Link could very easily have a connection with Ruto very similar to that of a Link and Tetra pairing. Sure, Ruto could be rather high-maintenance, but that could very well be what Link needs in life. The only problem with such a pairing is the race difference. Although it is unknown whether or not Hylians and Zoras could actually procreate with each other, it doesn't seem likely that a Zora female could carry the child of a Hylian man and vice-versa. In other words, Link would be unable to provide Ruto with any chance of offspring to add to the Royal Family. My opinion: Possible infatuation, but no chance of a lasting relationship.

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The minor possibility would be the pairing of Link and the Gerudo thief, Nabooru. The thing that gets in the way of this pairing is the age difference. Nabooru is already an adult when Link meets her as a child, and although she compliments Link's mature appearance latter in the game, there is very little that leads the gamer to believe that a serious romantic connection between the two exists. If they did indeed pursue a connection that exceeded mere friendship, my opinion would be they would have nothing more than an infatuation, or fling if you will.

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With Ocarina Of Time out of the way, we take a look at the game Majora's Mask. This is a very hard game to find romantic connections in because Link is in a world he doesn't even belong in, for one. Plus, his main focus is to return to Hyrule, and in order to do that, he has to travel back and forth through time in order to stop the moon from crashing into the land and defeat Majora once and for all. In other words, he has very little time to get involved with anybody on a personal level if he wants to get back home.

Wind Waker has very few possible connections. In fact the only other possible pairing in the game besides Link and Tetra, that I could think of anyway, would be Link and Medli. This has a lot of factors that get in the way of such a connection. For one thing, as in the case with Link and Tetra for that matter, these two are very young and would most likely be less prone to a romantic connection. Another thing that gets in the way is that Medli becomes an Earth Sage and must continue her duties as one. One last factor is that the Ruto prince, Komali, actually has a bit of a crush on her, and the two would most likely fit together if it hadn't been for her duties as a Sage.

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Finally, we reach world of Twilight Princess. This is, without a doubt, the most emotional Zelda game made thus far and, lucky for us fanfic authors and readers, leaves plenty of room for romance. Before we get into detail over who the possible pairings are in this amazing game, let us point out that this is the first game in years that brought out such eye-popping hints in the fields of romance. It is also the first game in years that didn't illustrate Zelda's affection towards Link on such a level. In this game, Zelda seems more concerned for her people and country. Although she is grateful for Link's brave efforts and concerned for his well being, she shows little, if any, romantic interest in the young hero. With that in mind, we concentrate our romantic pairings on two new female characters.

First on our list is Ilia. As soon as I saw the first scene with Link and Ilia in Twilight Princess, I actually forgot about Malon for a while. As soon as I saw Link give Ilia a bashful smile I eagerly played through the game in hopes that they would be together romantically. Although some may think that their bond with each other only reaches towards close friendship, the game's beautifully dramatic cut scenes definitely imply the great possibility of such a pairing.

In the game, Ilia is a very caring and affectionate young woman who holds Link in very high esteem as Link does for her. They are close friends who have known each other since childhood and are very comfortable in each other's presence, unless of course if Ilia is angry with Link for pressing his horse, Epona, too hard. That aside, they are the best of friends and have their share of intimate moments. My opinion: They were made for each other. It's as obvious as their pointy ears.

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But who could forget about Midna? This possible pairing is not very apparent at first. When Link and Midna meet, Midna's intentions are to use Link for her own purposes, disregarding Link's responsibilities unless they help her reach her goals. Overtime, however, the two eventually warm up to each other and grow a good deal of trust. It's the game's end that makes Midna's intimate connection with Link possible. Once Midna's true and beautiful form is revealed to Link and Zelda, Link finds himself staring into Midna's eyes until the Twilight Princess snaps Link out of his trance with a teasing remark about her beauty, of which Link can't help but smile at her for.

Finally, at the final scene with Midna, Link and Zelda at the Twilight Mirror, Midna pauses before saying something that could have been an indication towards her feelings regarding Link, but neglects to finish her statement and simply says, "See ya later," leaving Link saddened to see her go with the Mirror of Twilight vanishing from sight as she leaves Hyrule. My opinion: Definite possibility, but with less likely chance to follow through.

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So there you have it. A list of many Link pairings with evidence to back up such a possibility. As many have come to ask, who does Link end up with? Well, the answer…………. is in you.

If there's one thing I credit the creators and writers of the Zelda series, it's the fact that they don't make that decision in the games. That gives us fanfic writers a chance to expand our horizons in the fields of creativity. It is we, the fan fiction authors and readers, we who are the true fans of such games. We add a part of ourselves into the games we cherish as we write and write until our fingers fall off. From one fanfic reader and writer to another, I commend you all for your imagination and contribution. It takes a lot of guts to execute such a task, but we pull it off with bruised fingers and bloodshot eyes. I am proud to be a fanfic author, and I am proud to be among the many fanfic authors of this site.

Thanks for reading guys!

I am the One, I am the Only, I am Onion Man Chive, and I have far too much free time on my hands!

Check ya later!


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